MAFS UK star Nathanial hints at marriage breakdown as wedding airs: 'I wanted more out of this'

Married at First Sight UK (MAFS UK) star Nathanial has hinted at the breakdown of his marriage with Ella on the E4 reality series, as he tells Yahoo UK that he "wanted more out of" doing the social experiment.

Nathanial also hinted at the frustration he felt with how things went on the show when speaking at a recent press event before his wedding episode aired, saying: "What I found doing the whole process is — I look at the inside of people, and most people judge me on the outside.

"How I look, how I act, what I wear, how I hold myself, what I do for a living, where I get seen, where I'm going, and I really wanted someone to get to know me.

Read more: MAFS UK star Arthur defends decision to use vows he found on the internet

"So, maybe that was something I wanted more out of this opportunity. Instead of being judged on the outside, I wanted someone to fall in love with me inside."

The events marketing manager also took to Instagram shortly before his episode aired — in which he met his bride Ella on their wedding day — on Tuesday, telling his followers on his Instagram Stories that he wasn't going to be watching the show but couldn't "wait to tell the truth about all the s*** that happened on this show".

MAFS sees eight prospective brides and grooms be matched up by dating experts who help them try to find love with a stranger that they meet at the altar, and Nathanial was paired with Ella. But, his recent social media post suggested things went south between him and Ella.

Nathanial was praised by MAFS UK viewers for his acceptance of Ella, the show's first transgender bride, with many saying they were "rooting" for the couple and hoped they were still an item.

One fan wrote on X: "I love that Nathaniel has accepted Ella for who she is and can see she is happy."

Another user added: "If Nathaniel and Ella don’t work out them there’s no hope for anyone I’m afraid, that is love right there"

While one commented: "I need Ella and Nathanial to be together forever, they are too cute."

The preview for the show's third episode suggested that things already began going wrong during the couple's honeymoon, though, with Nathanial telling Ella that she was "lying" to him which led to her breaking down in tears and telling the cameras that "this s*** is hard".

Read more: MAFS UK star Ella on being show's first transgender bride: 'I don't want to say I'm a role model'

Nathanial went on to tell Yahoo UK that he wanted to go on the programme because he wanted to show that pansexual people like himself shouldn't be "put in a box".

"The biggest pull for me to do the show was to show that I'm pansexual and I fall in love with a person, it was more about I wanted people to see what is a pansexual person. I wanted to shine the light on what [pansexuality] is," he explains.

"I think people just think that you go with anything, any gender, and it's not that, you go for someone's mind and soul.

"But also — just like every straight person, gay person or bi person — you have preferences but no one gives you the chance to talk about your preferences, they just put you in a box, so I wanted to come on the show and break that."

He explained that "representation of any form needs to be shown" on screen, and reflected on his own childhood experiences by saying: "Life's hard enough, and I grew up as a Black queer guy and I didn't have anyone to look up to. I didn't have any guidance.

"Obviously, coming from a Black background, everyone's Christian, so obviously that shadowed everything for so long. I kind of just want to put a torch on it and really show what it is to be me."

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Nathanial also said that the concept of love at first sight "doesn't work" for him, saying instead: "It's love at first meeting, it's getting to really embrace who that person is and what makes them tick, like, what really makes me smile.

"I can meet someone once and I could be obsessed because of how amazing they are and the way they speak, their effusion, the way they touch and hold, how they hold themselves, it's really amazing."

Married at First Sight UK airs at 9pm every Monday to Thursday on E4.